P. Guglielmoni et al., Intra- and inter-examiner reproducibility in keratinized tissue width assessment with 3 methods for mucogingival junction determination, J PERIODONT, 72(2), 2001, pp. 134-139
Background: Although the need for "adequate" amount of keratinized tissue (
KT) for periodontal health is questionable, the mucogingival junction (MGJ)
often serves as a measurement landmark in periodontal evaluations, Limited
information is available on the reproducibility of KT width (KTW) assessme
nt. The purpose of this study was to assess intra- and inter-examiner repro
ducibility in measuring KTW by using 3 different methods to identify MGJ lo
cation.
Methods: Fifteen patients provided 17 teeth which had undergone a gingival
augmentation procedure (connective tissue graft; surgery group) and an equa
l number of contralateral, non-treated teeth (control group). At the midbuc
cal aspect of each tooth, KTW was assessed by 2 independent examiners after
MGJ identification by the visual (VM), functional (FM), and visual with hi
stochemical staining (HM) method. Data analysis was based on intra-class co
rrelation coefficients (ICC) and 3-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) for dif
ferences between replicate measurements.
Results: KTW was significantly different between treated and control teeth.
No significant differences in KTW were found in relation to method for MGJ
determination and examiner. Intra- and inter-examiner reproducibility was
high, regardless of treatment status or method for MGJ determination (ICC =
0.92 - 0.99). Standard deviations of the difference between replicate meas
urements ranged from 0.46 mm for VM to 0.21 mm for HM.
Conclusions: Intra- and inter-examiner reproducibility has been shown to be
substantially consistent when different methods for MGJ determination are
used to measure the apico-coronal dimension of the gingiva, The level of re
producibility does not seem to be affected whether or not the mucogingival
complex has been surgically altered by a gingival augmentation procedure.